An embodiment relates to object sensor fusion.
Vision-imaging systems are used in vehicles for enhancing applications such as object detection systems and other vision/positioning systems. Such systems utilize a camera to capture the image and then extract objects from the image. Such objects may be other vehicles, pedestrians, or even objects within a road of travel.
Radar systems are also used to detect objects within the road of travel. Radar systems utilize radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. A transmitter transmits pulses of radio waves which bounce off any object in their path. The pulses bounced off the object returns a tiny part of the wave's energy to a receiver which is typically located at the same location as the transmitter.
Detecting objects by cooperatively utilizing vision-imaging systems and radar systems would add confidence as to the detection and position of an object in the path of travel of a vehicle. Data associated or data correspondence between different modalities may be readily performed when the vehicle is traveling along a flat, non-pitched road; however, if the road of travel is not flat or the road pitch changes abruptly due to the structure of the road or due to harsh braking, then fusion of the data from complementary sensors of different modalities becomes increasingly difficult.